Stephen Strasburg is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Strasburg was selected by Washington with the first overall pick in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft.
In his first season with the Aztecs, Strasburg pitched in relief for San Diego State, first as a middle reliever and then as the team’s closer. He had a.141 opponent batting average and was named Mountain West Conference Co-Freshman of the Year.
Strasburg was also a member of the Torrington Twisters of the New England Collegiate Baseball League in the summer of 2007. (NECBL).
A closer for the NECBL First Team, he was also selected as the league’s top pro prospect and best reliever.
Strasburg became a full-time starting pitcher in 2008, when he was just 20 years old. He had an 8-3 record, a 1.58 earned run average, and 134 strikeouts in 98 13 innings pitched.
In 2008, he threw a shutout in four of his thirteen starts, two of which were complete games. A Mountain West Conference record 23 hitters were struck out in a game against the University of Utah on April 11 of that year.
How Fast Can Stephen Strasburg Throw?
Stephen Strasburg has a maximum velocity of 94.6 mph and an average velocity of 91.7 mph. His hand-to-plate speed is usually 14.2 revolutions per minute (2074 revolutions per minute). At least 42% of his pitches are in the strike zone.
Fastballs with a 95mph velocity travel at around 139 feet per second. That equates to an arrival time to the plate of 0.425 seconds.